


Her Wedding Ring

by AllSeeingEye12



Category: Kings of Paradise (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, One Shot, Taki's Conflicting Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-24 13:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21100454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllSeeingEye12/pseuds/AllSeeingEye12
Summary: Ever since that fateful night at the firework festival, Taki never let himself experience heartbreak again. That all changed at his birthday party





	Her Wedding Ring

**Author's Note:**

> Hi *nervously waves* I'm back! I've been taking a short hiatus from my lengthier Taki fic (but I promise I have a new chapter in the works!) to write this little piece that's been in my head for quite some time. It's how I imagined Taki's POV would've been the moment he and MC (She has no name in this fic) met again at his birthday. Hope you enjoy and I truly appreciate any feedback!

"Damn it, Yosuke," Taki Kozaki grumbled when he viewed the caller ID on his phone, knowing exactly what the man in question wanted. All he had wanted for his 30th birthday was a quiet night at home with his crocodile Sydney, hell, maybe Shun and Kiyohito could join in. Instead, Yosuke had gone behind his back and invited practically all of Japan (he was only slightly exagerrating) for a gala. Knowing that ignoring Yosuke would probably lead to getting infinite more calls and a helicopter announcement (an event that would NOT be repeating), Taki resigned himself to answering. 

"Taki! Are you almost ready for your party? You better be; you're the guest of honor!" How did that man seem to always have endless energy? 

"I suppose so."

"Well, get to the venue! That gang's all here and some guests have started to arrive already."

"...I don't have a choice, do I?"

Yosuke's response was a chuckle so dark that it actually made the stoic Taki's hairs raise. With a sigh, Taki made his way to the foyer, stopping to rub Sydney's scales. 

"Be a good girl, okay? I'll try to get back as soon as possible," He reassured his sad crocodile and her tail wagged in anticipation. 

_So many people invited today..._ Taki checked the guest list once more on his phone to see if any of them were possible clients or connections. An unwelcome pang of sadness shot through him. So many people...and yet only three of them were who he considered friends. When did he start thinking like this, that anyone could be a dollar sign? He shut his eyes and opened them again, as if to force himself to see reality. They always had been and always will be. There was no reason to think otherwise, Taki reminded himself. The only thing that would change tonight was his age.

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"Happy birthday, Mr. Kozaki! Is your fiancee accompanying you tonight?" An elderly businessman asked._ Here we go_...the man had constantly tried to introduce Taki to his granddaughter for several months. Taki had made up a fiancee to deter him but he had his suspicions that the old man wasn't fully convinced. 

"She's-"

"Hey, birthday boy!" Shun came to his rescue. "Have you met my date yet? I told her you were a fan of her movies."

"No, not yet." Truth be told, Taki hadn't even seen one of this actress's movies but he was grateful to his friend for the distraction. With a polite bow, they left the confused businessman and walked to where Yosuke and Kiyohito were waiting for them. 

"Hey, you should really take my suggestion." Yosuke took a swing of his drink and jutted his chin towards the man's direction. "Get some girl to pretend to be your fiancee. That'll at least sell the image."

"I do know some actresses," Shun helpfully supplied. Taki suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Shun did more than just _know _ actresses. 

"I'll figure something out," Taki gruffly said, not willing to admit that he was actually considering Yosuke's idea. "For now, let'-hey. Watch it."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

The woman who had bumped into him meekly turned around and the moment their eyes met, Taki felt his heart stop. 

_There's no way...it can't be possible. _Her features were sharper than they were the last time he'd seen them but looking into her eyes brought back memories. Memories he'd thought he suppressed after that traumatic night. Passing notes behind the teacher's back, sharing food brought at a stall, stealing kisses before saying goodbye...

"What were you saying? Oh, hi there," Shun cheerfully greeted their new companion. Then his eyes flickered down to her hands. "You're married."

_You're married. _Shun continued to speak but those words echoed in his head ominously. He forced himself to look at her hands himself and sure enough, a gold wedding band was proudly displayed on her ring finger. The woman he could never get out of his head, no matter how hard he tried, was someone else's. 

He tuned back into the conversation to hear Kiyohito scolding Shun over his date.

"You never change," Taki snapped, a little harsher than he had intended and even the expressionless Kiyohito widened his eyes. "All you think about are women and movies."

The trio strolled off and Taki resolved not to look at her again for the rest of the night. Until it was time for the champagne toast. He walked to the center of the stage, a bottle of expensive champagne in hand, when for the slightest of moments, their eyes met. She was in the crowd, standing near another woman who must've been her friend, and his hand shook ever so slightly. 

_Is she married to **him** now?_

The memory of her kissing some other guy at the firework festival imprinted itself onto his brain, replaying over and over. _Let's get this damn toast over with, _Taki poured the drink over the glasses to resounding applause. _God knows how many of these glasses I'll have tonight. _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She shouldn't mean anything to him. They were a high school couple, nothing more. But damn it, why did it _hurt _so much to see that ring on her finger? The last time he'd felt like this was when...

"That stuff is way too strong to chug down like that," Kiyohito remarked. "But, hey, it's your birthday."

Realizing that he'd tried to one shot his (was this his third? Or maybe fourth? Ah who the hell cared) glass of wine, Taki nearly spluttered out what was in his mouth. He shot Kiyohito a sheepish glance.

"You saw nothing."

Before Kiyohito could say anything, they were interrupted by a certain commotion. 

"I believe there's lemon in the salad." Well, so much for trying to avoid her. Cautiously, he followed his friends to the refreshment tables. 

_You're still so obsessed with food. _Taki observed the scene from afar. _It was almost impossible to beat you at flavor guessing contests. Do you even remember those? _

_Do you even remember me?_

She had no reason to, if he were to be reasonable. They had spent more than a decade apart, growing in separate directions. If they hadn't...would he have a band that matched hers'? 

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Kozaki."

A well-wisher brought him back to the world he now lived in. He wasn't a high school kid obsessed with sports and his girlfriend anymore. He was one of the wealthiest men in Tokyo, a man who commanded respect with his mere presence. 

_Whoever you are, take care of her. Take care of her for me. _

With that final thought, Taki turned to greet one of his guests, Tomohiro Fuyuki. 


End file.
